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Develop a Family Disaster Plan

Families can cope with disaster by preparing in advance and working together as a team. Create a family disaster plan including a communication plan, emergency kit, and an evacuation plan. Knowing what to do is your best protection and your responsibility.

Make a disaster plan

When developing your disaster plan, find out what types of emergencies are most likely to happen in your community. Discuss what to do in an evacuation. Plan how to take care of your pets.

Pick a meeting spot and a way to get in contact with your family members. When an emergency happens, there's a good chance that all your family members won't be in the same place, so it's important to have a predetermined rendezvous point:

Ask an out-of-state friend to be your “family contact.” After a disaster, it’s often easier to call long distance. Other family members should call this person and tell them where they are. Everyone must know your contact’s phone number.

Families should develop different methods for communicating during emergency situations and share their plans beforehand with all those who would be worried about their welfare. Options for remaining in contact with family and friends if a disaster strikes include:

Phone contact with a designated family member or friend who is unlikely to be affected by the same disaster.

Use of the U.S. Postal Service change of address forms when it becomes necessary to leave home for an extended period of time, thus ensuring that mail will be redirected to a current address.

Safe and Well Website

Following the 2005 hurricane season, the Red Cross developed the Safe and Well website, which enables people within a disaster area to let their friends and loved ones outside of the affected region know of their well-being. By logging onto the Red Cross public website, a person affected by disaster may post messages indicating that they are safe and well at a shelter, hotel, or at home, and that they will contact their friends and family as soon as possible. During large-scale disasters, there will be telephone-based assistance via the 1-866-GET-INFO hotline for people who live within the affected areas and do not have Internet access, but wish to register on the Safe and Well website.

People who are concerned about family members in an affected area may also access the Safe and Well website to view these messages. They will be required to enter either the name and telephone number, or the name and complete address, of the person about whom they wish to get information. Red Cross chapters will provide telephone-based assistance to local callers who do not have Internet access and wish to search the Safe and Well website for information about a loved one.

Be assured that the information on the Safe and Well website is secure and that information about the locations where people are staying is not published. Privacy laws require the Red Cross to protect each person's right to determine how best to communicate their contact information and whereabouts to family members. The Red Cross does not actively trace or attempt to locate individuals registered on the Safe and Well website.